High Fructose Corn Syrup: Sweetener Doesn't Cause Obesity or Disease

It's been accused of causing everything from obesity to headaches to disease, but according to a new study on high fructose corn syrup, it does none of these things.

The campaign to smear high fructose corn syrup has been going on for a few years. As a result "natural" sugar is back in, and corn refineries have even asked the FDA to allow them to rename the unpopular sweetener "corn sugar."

A lawsuit is pending, based mostly on the sugar industry's displeasure with the term.

But according to Dr. James Rippe, Professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Central Florida, this demonized sweetener is innocent. His study, presented a the American Society of Hypertension Annual Meeting, has found that high fructose corn syrup reacts in the human body just like regular sugar.

And in a surprising turn, it appears that we aren't eating as much in the way of all sweeteners as we were ten years ago.

Rippe's research found that individuals who ate normal levels of HFCS were no more likely to be overweight or have higher triglycerides than those who consumed standard table sugar.

And while overall caloric consumption is up, the United States Department of Agriculture reports that Americans ate 10% fewer calories from all sweeteners in the last decade, including high fructose corn syrup.

Does this mean that high fructose corn syrup will finally shake its bad reputation?

It's not clear. Currently standard sugar is gaining more and more momentum as the sweetener of choice.

However, food manufacturers who do rely on HFCS can rest easy knowing that their products are actually as safe as those made with ordinary sugar.